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I have been wanting to try making my own pasta for a long time now. This week is the 1 year anniversary of the
Presto Pasta Nights
roundups at
Once Upon a Feast
and I thought what better time to try? I do not have a pasta maker so I would have to make a pretty simple pasta and luckily I had come across one. Japanese
udon
noodles which are thick wheat based noodles, fit the bill perfectly. The udon noodles are nice and thick so you do not need a pasta maker to get them thin enough.
The ingredient list for udon noodles is pretty simple, just flour, water and a bit of salt. The recipe is pretty easy to follow though it required a bit of muscle and effort to knead and roll the dough. I used Harumi Kurihara's suggestion from Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking to step on the dough. It made making the dough a bit more fun and it was definitely easier to let my weight and gravity do the work of rolling the dough out for me. The dough came together pretty easily. It requires a few hours of resting so it might be best to do this on a weekend. The dough ended up being nice and smooth and chewy.

I decided to use the udon noodles in a soup with a really simple
dashi
and
mentsuyu
broth. The udon noodles took a while to cook as they were so thick but they turned out pretty good. The udon noodles had a really great chewy texture. I garnished the udon soup simply with green onions and togarashi. Togarashi is a chili powder condiment commonly used in Japan with a few extras like sesame seeds.

Overall I was pretty pleased with the home made udon noodles. I will be keeping an eye out for a good price on a pasta maker so that I can try making more kinds of pasta at home.

Udon Noodles

ingredients

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup water

2 1/2 cups flour

directions

Dissolve the salt into the water.

Mix the water into the flour in a large bowl.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes.

Place the dough into a freezer bag and step on it to flatten it with shoes off.

More power to you, Kevin! I love udon noodles, but never even thought about making them -- just eating them! This sounds simple enough for a newbie like me. And I love the thought of dancing on my noodles! (That's what I picture when you said "stepping on (the) dough".

I was going to make the chestnut stracci to go with my oxtail stew, but couldn't find any chestnut flour. So pasta making is still in my future.

green-tea-river: By the time that you are cutting the noodles they should not be very sticky and if it was then you can add a bit more flour. You fold them before cutting them to ensure that you can cut them with a single push of the knife in a downwards direction without sliding so the knife should go down and them come out cleanly.

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About Me

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.